Advertisement

Who Run The (Retail) World? Girls!

By Samantha Polak, Editorial Intern
 

While women are notorious for being the shoppers of the family, a new study from SimpleRelevance shows that this long-held notion is not only true, but also is having a resounding impact on retailers. 

Currently, women account for $20 trillion in annual consumer spending, and this number is expected to grow up to $28 trillion over the next five years. With numbers this large, retailers have no choice but to generate new marketing strategies to target women who are 50% of the population and acquire 85% of the buying power.

To implement successful campaigns and strategies targeted to women, marketers must first understand their unique browsing and buying behaviors.

Advertisement

Women accounted for 88% of total clicks among female-centric online retailers, with top purchases including clothing (57%), books and movies (46%), electronics (38%), shoes (35%) and travel (31%).

The top three operating systems females use to shop online include: Windows (60%), iOS (32%), and Mac OS X (8%). But overall, Apple dominated mobile device purchases (82%) while Microsoft was preferred for desktop purchases (65%). 

Accounting for nearly half of the U.S. labor force, women are busier than ever and are shopping more than ever on their mobile devices and online. Online retailers that save shoppers time could see a spike in sales in exchange for convenience and ease of use. 

What does all of this mean for retailers? In my opinion, retailers can do three things to get the attention of today’s savvy female shoppers:

1. Clean up mobile sites and apps

2. Encourage email sign-ups and send alerts

3. Promote personalization

Apps And Mobile Sites

As a young, busy woman in the digital age, I can vouch for just how important it is to have a well-designed mobile web site and app. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to buy something on your phone only to have the app look completely different from the e-Commerce site and is impossible to navigate through. Keep apps clean and simple, and consumers will definitely reward you for it. 

Email Alerts

One of the most satisfying feelings as a shopaholic is waking up with an email discount from your favorite brand or retailer in your inbox. Some of my mornings have been made by seeing that my favorite clothing store was having a sale that day, that tickets for my favorite artist were half off, or that my coffee was buy one get one free that day. As long as emails are not sent too frequently, they can be very beneficial to both the retailer and the consumer.

Promote Personalization

In the age of Netflix and social media, personalization has become more important in the marketing world. Product recommendations grab consumers’ attention and keep them coming back. In fact, retailers are likely to see six times more revenue from personalization strategies, according to the survey from SimpleRelevance. Personalization strategies that can drive long-term loyalty include: Delivering emails catered to your preferences, offering real estate on the site to allow shoppers to mix and match outfits, creating personality profiles so customers have the most relevant experiences. Not only does a personalized approach make shoppers feel like a retailer completely understands them, but they’re also more likely to spend!

Access The Media Kit

Interests:

Access Our Editorial Calendar




If you are downloading this on behalf of a client, please provide the company name and website information below: